Maintaining an ergonomic office is more than just an excuse to buy cool looking furniture, it is actually the key to better health for everyone on the job.  Work environments that are not properly thought out from an ergonomic perspective have been found to cause a variety of ailments, including: carpal tunnel syndrome, eye strain, headaches and back pain.

There are a variety of ways to improve the ergonomic standing of an office, from positioning furniture correctly to improving the lighting and ventilation around the workspace.  The following are ten tips and tricks for making your office ergonomically correct - whether you’ve got one employee or one thousand.

10 Tips for maintaining an ergonomic office

1. If your feet don’t touch the floor, always use a foot rest. Providing a simple, adjustable foot rest at every workstation will help employees maintain a strong back and avoid leg cramps or stiffness.
2. Keep all PC monitors straight ahead and at eye level. If you have to crane your neck up, down or to the side in order to get a good look at your monitor, you will pay the price over time.  Keep the viewing screen level with the direct field of vision to help erase unwanted movements that can cause long-term injury.
3. Use large-barrel pens and pencils. It may sound silly, but trying to grip thin writing instruments all day can lead to cramping and even Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.  Stock your office supply cabinets with pens and pencils that sport a half-inch diameter or greater.
4. Reduce glare throughout the office. Align your desks and workstations so that the office lighting system does not emit heavy glare on computer screens.  Proper lighting is an often overlooked aspect of ergonomic design, yet can improve worker health significantly.
5. Don’t sit under a vent. Proper ventilation plays an important role in ergonomics and good health.  Never place desks or workstations directly in the path of a heating or air-conditioning ventilation system.
6. Design with good air circulation in mind. If there is an opportunity to place workstations close to a natural breeze or well-circulated area, do it!  This can improve worker health and well-being significantly.  The more fresh air that is available in the workplace, the lesser the impact of dust mites, mold and other potentially dangerous allergens.
7. Take short breaks throughout the day.  Many studies have shown that shifting position or changing tasks occasionally throughout the day will lessen the discomfort associated with repetitive tasks.  Something as simple as a two or three minute “micro-break” every hour can be a boon to the ergonomic health of the staff.
8. Exercise during your micro-breaks. Make sure that the time you spend in between tasks is put to good use with proper office exercises.  These simple stretching exercises are designed to reduce to the chance of carpal tunnel syndrome or other repetitive stress disorders.
9. Use adjustable chairs.  For individuals who work on the PC for many hours at a time, chairs with an adjustable arm rest are recommended.  Reaching for the mouse thousands of time throughout the day can cause great arm and wrist strain if the height of the chair is not properly optimized.
10. Get the proper back support for every chair. Finally, the most important element in ergonomic seating is proper back support.  It is highly recommended that you purchase only ergonomically-approved chairs for your office, or if you are on a tight budget, add back supports to existing office chairs.

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) may be the punch line of a million office jokes, but the consequences of this physical, work-related disorder are actually quite serious.

Symptoms of CTS include:

• Numbness of the hands and wrists
• Inability to grip or hold common household items
• Loss of pinch strength between thumb and forefinger
• Atrophying of the thumb muscles

Here are some simple exercises you can do at your workspace that will help keep CTS and repetitive stress disorder at bay.  The following should take place during “micro-breaks” throughout the day.  A micro-break is a short, 2-3 minute rest period taken every hour to avoid stiffness and muscle soreness.

1. Full body stretching.   Face the nearest wall and reach up as high as you can.  As you stretch, place your feet firmly on the ground.  Now firm up your legs and begin to reach down, moving your hands slowly along the wall.  Move down as low as you can without discomfort – then hold that position for five seconds.  Repeat five times.
2. Forearm and wrist exercise.  Standing alongside the wall, place your right palm flat against the wall.  Extended your elbow until your arm is straight, and then press your palm into the wall.  Now take a breath and move your head to the left, moving your right shoulder blade in towards the front of your body.  Hold this position and then take a deep breath.  Repeat.
3. Stretching while sitting.  Sit upright in your chair with your  head resting in a comfortable position on your neck.  Now, bring your hands down to the seat of the chair (behind your back) and slowly rotate your shoulders back, pushing your shoulder blades back as you go.
4. Helping your hands.   Extend your arms and stretch out your hands and fingers as if they were in a “handstand” position.  Hold for five seconds and then release.  Next, straighten your hands and relax your fingers.  Shake the fingers a little for circulation.  Now make a tight fist with each hand.  Bend both wrists straight down while continuing to make the fist.  Hold this position for five seconds.  Now let your arms and hands hang down at your sides.  Shake your arms and legs until they feel loose.  Repeat these hand exercises ten times each day.
5. Have you hugged your knees today? In order to strengthen the back during long periods of sitting, try the following:  grab one of your legs with both hands.  Now pull that leg up to your chest.  Hug your leg for five seconds and then release.  Now repeat with the other leg.
6. Back bends.  Stand up from your chair and try the following exercise designed to strengthen your lower back, joints and hips.  Simply place your hands on your hips and bend slowly backwards.  Hold the position for three seconds, but make sure that the position you are in does not cause pain.  Repeat this exercise five times.

Remember, the secret to avoiding carpal tunnel lies in the micro-break.  Force yourself to get up at regular intervals throughout the day at perform the exercises above.  You will greatly reduce the chance of work-related illnesses…and improve your health to boot!